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Donald Trump is seeking an August 12 start date from Judge Aileen Cannon for his classified documents case, just a month after the date requested by prosecutors.
And one analyst says it's a ruse to delay his election fraud trial.
Trump is facing 40 federal charges over allegations he retained classified papers at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after leaving the White House in January 2021. He is also accused of and obstructing efforts by authorities to have them returned. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
In a submission to Judge Cannon on Thursday, Trump's lawyers give a list of days when Trump will not be available for trial, including the 2024 presidential election primaries and the Stormy Daniels hush money trial in New York.
The suggestion of an August 12 trial date is surprising as Trump had been advocating for a postponement of the trial until after the 2024 presidential election in November.
However, MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Trump is deliberately seeking an August trial date to stop Judge Tanya Chutkan from beginning Trump's election fraud trial any time in the summer.
Chutkan is currently waiting for the Supreme Court to decide on Trump's claim of presidential immunity before starting the trial in Washington D.C.
She has said in court that she would clear her summer schedule to make way for the Trump trial once the Supreme Court has issued its ruling.
Rubin wrote that she was initially surprised by Trump's August request but realized the difficulties it would create for Chutkan's trial.
"At first, I was surprised Trump was not asking for an outright stay," she wrote.
She then noticed that Trump's request mentions that the Supreme Court has still to decide on the presidential immunity case in the election fraud case.
"This is a coded invitation to Judge Cannon to schedule absolutely nothing—or in the alternative, a trial date that would effectively block Judge Chutkan from trying the case before her before the election," Rubin wrote.
The days when Trump is not available for trial are shaded in gray on the Trump team's proposed schedule that was submitted on Thursday.
The grayed-out dates include the Super Tuesday primaries on March 5 in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and American Samoa, and the scheduled estimates for jury selection and trial in the Stormy Daniels case between March 25 and May 10.
Trump is facing a 34-count felony indictment for alleged hush money payments made to adult film star Daniels and others prior to the 2016 presidential election. Trump has pleaded not guilty and has continuously denied any wrongdoing. Many of his supporters believe the case is politically motivated.
Newsweek sought email comment from Trump's lawyer on Friday. Trump remains the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential race.
Trump's lawyers made the submission ahead of Friday's scheduling hearing in the classified documents case.
In a separate submission to Judge Cannon on Thursday, prosecutors suggested a start date of July 8.
The classified documents trial was originally due to start in May but has been beset with delays caused by wrangling over the classified documents at the center of the case.
Chief prosecutor, Jack Smith, has accused Trump's legal team of deliberately trying to delay the trial by making unreasonable requests for documents.
Trump is facing separate changes before Judge Chutkan that he tried to illegally subvert the result of the 2020 presidential election.
In that case, Smith's investigation focused on Trump's actions leading up to and during the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, when a group of his supporters violently protested the election, which Trump had said was stolen.
Smith also investigated Trump's alleged efforts to submit false slates of electors to the Electoral College. Indicted on four felony counts, Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and maintains that he is innocent of any wrongdoing.
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About the writer
Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ... Read more